AN author who was told his novel was ‘too gay’ has received the backing of a number of famous names in his bid to get the book published.

Matt Cain’s The Madonna of Bolton received more than 30 rejections from publishers, who said that the book would not sell because there is no market for it.

Cain, who was born in Bury but moved to Bradshaw aged 2, has since turned to crowdfunding through Unbound, and has received support from the likes of David Walliams, Mark Gatiss and One Day author David Nicholls.

His campaign aims to raise between £15,000 and £16,000 in order to get the book published, and has so far reached over 80 per cent of the target in a record six days.

Set in suburban Bolton, the novel is based on Cain’s own experiences growing up.

It follows Charlie Matthews, who falls in love with Madonna on his ninth birthday.

Charlie’s obsession “sees him through some tough times in life: being persecuted at school; fitting in at a posh university; a glamorous career in London; finding boyfriends; getting rid of boyfriends; growing up; and family heartbreak”.

Madonna inspires Charlie until he is finally able to let go of his reliance on his idol and learn to find his own voice.

Cain said: “When I was growing up in Bolton it was not the easiest place to be gay and I experienced a lot of discrimination and I clung on to Madonna to get me through it.

“You didn’t have many gay role models at the time and Madonna was a straight ally of the LGBT community.

“I started writing it 12 years ago but I had three rounds of rejections from publishers.

“Then, my nan, who is 95 and lives in Ainsworth, found a book she made when she was 16 or 17 and was working in a mill in Bolton. To get through the days she wrote out the lyrics of her favourite songs.

“When she showed me the book I realised that all those years ago she was doing what I was doing with Madonna, so I knew that I was on to something.”

Despite publishers telling him there was no market for the novel, Cain insists that its appeal is much wider than just the LGBT community.

He said: “So much of what I experienced is relevant to everybody. If they said that the writing was rubbish that would have been a different matter, but this got me angry, and that is why I want to do something about it.

“This book will not just appeal to gay people but to everyone who has looked at popular culture to get them through a tough time.”

After attending St Gabriel’s RC High School in Bury, Cain left Bolton to study at Cambridge University before embarking on a career in broadcasting, where he worked for ITV before becoming Channel 4’s first culture editor.

He now lives in London and is editor of Attitude, a leading gay lifestyle magazine.

He published his first novel, Shot Through the Heart, in 2014, and his second offering, Nothing But Trouble, was released in July of the following year.

If the level of support shown to him over the last few days is anything to go by, Cain may well end up proving the publishers wrong and making a huge success of his third.

He said: “It’s fantastic. If you look at what people are pledging it’s just normal readers buying advance copies of the book.

“It just proves that there is a market for it.”

Pledges can be made towards the book at https://unbound.com/books/the-madonna-of-bolton.